Uncovered Secrets
by stacywriter
Summary: One-Shot: A 'what-if' scenario for Eli and Lani's eventual reunion.


**Uncovered Secrets**

The door swung open and closed rather suddenly, which startled Lani as she slowly turned from the window and let out a light gasp after noticing that the person that had entered was Eli, not Kristen as expected, and then there he was - standing near the door, his eyes darting toward her rather quickly, something she couldn't ignore.

A part of her worried he caught onto the revenge plan.

A part of her worried that he hadn't.

Eli took in a breath – flashes of Lani leaving him at the altar, and how he practically begged her to tell him what was going on, moved in and out of his thoughts as he stood there, right before a wave rushed over him, as he remembered how shattered he felt.

He had vowed to uncover the truth on why she left him.

And finally, over a year later, he had those answers.

Reaching behind for the door handle, Eli turned the lock as his eyes remained fixated on where she stood, right until the click was heard and the lock turned. Nobody was getting in that room – he made a promise to himself that he was going to get an explanation, and anyone getting in would need to kick the door down or have a key.

"If you're looking for Gabi—"

He moved from the door, taking a few steps forward before interrupting, "I'm not."

Lani was frozen – he was slowly inching closer, and here she was, trying to avoid giving away any obvious signs that not only was she still in love with him, she was also waiting for the day when she could reclaim her life again.

He finally stopped, leaving a safe distance between them – loud silence circling.

Lani could practically feel her heart beating out of her chest by his close proximity.

It was late – what was he doing there?

If he wasn't there for Gabi - what did he want?

She couldn't take it for another second – standing so close, practically screaming on the inside about how much it killed her to see him with Gabi and how many times she wanted to tell him the truth – the _real _truth on why she walked out on him at their wedding, humiliating him in front of their family and friends, and breaking his heart and hers in the process.

She couldn't do it – not yet.

"I'm only here because Kristen asked me to meet her -" words trailed to mere silence when she noticed that he didn't seem surprised, and all that went through her mind in that moment was, _'What if she told him?' _

Eli was angry and hurt – he needed to let it all sink in before coming to find her.

He wanted an explanation – something she could only give him.

Thoughts swirled around on that very subject, leaving him to barely notice as she slipped past him while making a beeline for the conference room door, where he knew she would probably be looking to exit about as quickly as he had entered.

He turned and said, "I know about the damn pacemaker."

The words stopped her cold in such a way that she wasn't sure how to process it – unfortunately, he didn't mention anything about the way Gabi was controlling Julie's pacemaker with the app, in order to ensure her own happiness with Eli would never be. And while she was getting close to putting an end to it all, she wasn't quite able to expose Gabi and attempt to reclaim the life she once had with Eli.

"The app – whatever the hell you want to call it."

Lani caught the tone in his voice, laced with anger and pain – still.

She didn't turn around, not immediately. "Why didn't you trust me, trust us on this?!" he bit out in a state of anger and hurt, hating the fact that she lied and caused the both of them excruciating pain for over a year, and it infuriated him to know that Gabi was behind it all. "We were cops, we could have figured a way out of this!"

The pain they felt was obvious.

The love was still there.

His words caused her to turn around and take a few steps toward him, matching his frustration since it wasn't as if she hadn't considered that over a dozen times. "This was Julie's life – your grandmother. If I would have called Gabi's bluff, she could have killed her. What would you have thought of me then? I couldn't justify the risk."

"We could've—"

"Eli – no, I couldn't do anything! Can't you understand that?" She could see that the feelings of being torn apart were still raw between them, as they argued back and forth around the anger and pain and love they felt, how it tore them apart from the inside. "I tried - "she threw her head back before continuing, "I tried to find another way around it, I just couldn't." Her words grew soft, in between the tears that were dropping down her cheek. "What about you?" she snapped in his direction and then said, "After _everything _that she has done, you felt it was easier to fall back into old patterns?"

For once, he was silent.

That wasn't even close to what went down.

If she only knew.

Lani turned from him in sadness, moving back to the door - trying but failing to unlock it, in an attempt to bolt before she said something she might regret later, as their actions hurt the other and pain was caused because of it, regardless of the intention.

"Why can't I open this door?" she muttered under her breath.

Before she could figure it out, Eli's hands were gripped on her waist and she finally let out the breath she had been holding, just as the warmth of his own breath was felt against her neck when he spun her around to face him.

It all happened so fast, and in that moment when their eyes met in silence, she wasn't thinking – those eyes staring into hers, as if he could see right into her soul. There was no denying that it felt as though maybe he wasn't over her any more than she was him.

Not even a year of being apart could diminish the feeling between them.

She felt it to the core, so did he.

His eyes darted down to her lips, stepping closer until their bodies almost touched – he was responding to her proximity and the gap closing between them, and all he could think about was that he wanted this woman – to have her wrapped around him, to forget the life he had without her in it. He wanted her. Today. Tomorrow. Always.

There was a need to know that she felt the same.

She did – whether he realized it or not.

A shiver trickled through every inch of her body in an instant, just as he bit down on his lower lip, leaving her waiting for what was about to happen next. The thoughts from earlier, surrounding Gabi and the pacemaker and what could happen to Julie, they suddenly disappeared when he cupped her face with both hands and held her near, pulling her head toward his before eventually crashing his lips over hers.

It wasn't long before he stepped forward and her back jammed against the wall.

A slight gasp escaped from her, and their lips parted for a brief second.

A _very_ brief second.

He kissed her hard – needing her to know just how much he meant it; how badly he wanted her…still, maybe even more than he ever had. The kisses between them spoke volumes – and suddenly her hands dropped from his chest, as her body arched toward him and her arms fluttered against the wall for a brief moment, and she couldn't help but give into the urge to touch him.

She did, and it affected the both of them.

Eli's hands moved to her hips. Holding her against him, deepening their kisses, and coaxing her lips open so that his tongue could enter her mouth. And when his tongue touched hers, a wave crashed over her entire body, flooded with an indescribable heat that made her weak, barely able to hold herself steady.

Their kisses were deliberate and passionate.

It had been so long that they'd been together that they couldn't stop.

She had prayed for this – Every. Single. Day.

"Wait, wait, wait-" Lani breathlessly called out, stepping away from him the moment his fingers found their way underneath the tucked shirt in her pants, and it was that touch against her skin that almost caused her body to feel like she was on fire.

Eli turned around, confused on why she stopped.

Needing a moment to get her bearings straight – Lani wondered what was going on? Were they really going to do this – in the conference room at Dimera Enterprises, where Gabi or anyone could potentially walk in? Granted, it was late – so the odds of that happening were probably minimal.

"I thought you wanted this as much as I do—" Eli's words trailed, once he noticed the look on her face, and he knew right then and there that he hadn't been wrong – the need to be together was stronger than it had ever been. "OK – what's stopping us? I know the truth – damn it, we didn't fall out of love. I'm here – you're here…"

He moved over to her, the close proximity was interfering with her concentration.

"You want Gabi to walk in on us?"

Eli shrugged, not really caring one way or the other – the only person he did care about was standing right in front of him. They'd wasted over a year – over 365 nights, where he could have gone to bed with her in his arms, and opened his eyes the next morning in the same way. Instead, Lani left Salem and came damn close to taking her vows and committing herself to the Lord; And he spent an entire year trying to find clues to what had gone down on his wedding day, as he hadn't been satisfied with the answers she had given him – this meant quitting the SPD and going to work for Gabi, pretending to be happy when he sure as hell was not.

Neither had been.

Not in the depths of their heart.

A part of her couldn't believe she was even concerned about Gabi finding them – not after everything; however, she also knew they needed to be careful, as they weren't exactly in the clear from Gabi's wrath on her, or that Julie's life was safe from any possible control over her pacemaker – so while she wanted Eli badly, she felt a slight hesitation to act on that feeling right then and there.

Reaching for the waistband of her pants, he yanked her back to where he stood.

He went too long wondering if she really loved him – if she thought of him the way he did her.

They both knew it was real.

Lani covered her hand over his as he bunched her shirt upward, and in unison they moved it up her body and directly over her head, right before tossing it to the side and onto the floor. A part of her knew this wasn't the right place or time – she was tired of waiting; tired of aching for him all hours of the day and night, and hoped that he was tired of it in the same way.

Eli breathed in deep once she stepped to him, and he touched the bare skin of her mid-section.

She shook her head, allowing her lips to suddenly crash onto his and feel what she had been missing for over a year – she had craved to be with him like this; to feel his hands roam all over her body, and for him to kiss her in a way that would leave her remembering it for days afterwards. She melted into him as he continued to pull her close, and there wasn't even a moment of hesitation on her part when he stepped forward, leading her toward the conference room table - laying her down as they bumped against the edge, he pushed anything in sight that was blocking his path to her, as he couldn't think of anything other than being with her.

Neither were thinking clearly, but it didn't matter.

He broke their kiss and stood, and she leaned forward on the edge of the table.

Grabbing the back of her neck, he pulled her back as they devoured each other in a soul-stealing kiss.

His lips covered hers and pushed his hot tongue into her mouth and kissed her with so much intensity that he didn't stop until it was clear that she could barely breath – and then and only then, did he break his lips from hers and exhale deeply.

Lani moved her hands from the table and began to unbutton his shirt.

He moaned as she pulled his shirt from his jeans, opening one button at a time.

As she did, Eli could barely move – he continued to catch his breath and closed his eyes briefly at the feel of her touch, taking in the warm of her breath around him while they foreheads were inches apart, and she continued to unbutton his shirt until she reached the last button on his shirt.

Her hands slowly moved over his skin.

Lani reached for the button on his jeans, she loosened it and then reached for the zipper.

He breathed inward – covering his hand over hers.

She smiled and pressed her lips together, pulling down the zipper of his jeans.

It wasn't long before her pants were off.

She grabbed at his shirt and he threw it off his body - their lips reconnected and stayed locked, almost as if this would be the last time that he would be with her; although, it was evident in the way he kissed and the way he touched her that he was as much in love with her as she was him, something that had never diminished.

The days of being apart were done.

They didn't have to say it – they felt it.

Lani heard him moan softly at the contact, once her hand reached inside his jeans – she continued to lean back and he leaned forward, as neither one wanted to break free from the feeling that was occurring between them. Her back suddenly hit the table, and he was hovering over her, kissing her like he never had before – Eli felt her shift, and he moved and cupped her face in his hands, controlling the nature of their kiss, not wanting her mouth to leave his anytime soon.


End file.
